Why would you want to be mayor of Birmingham? It’s a totally thankless job. Someone named “Bell” apparently wants it, though the paper doesn’t further identify him. I assume it’s William but there have been at least two Bells on the City Council in my memory.

So apparently it’s the city of Birmingham’s fault that the Birmingdome hasn’t been built yet. At least according to Larry Langford, who wants to be Mayor of Birmingham even though he doesn’t live there. The current Mayor, however, blames the county. Let’s all agree to blame someone else, possibly Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos, who has nothing to do with the issue.

Senator Clinton wants to be called “Hillary”, so she gets called “Hillary”. But I have a problem with this:

I don’t go around calling people by their last names. I actually have a quick way of gauging how “grounded” a politician is. Upon first meeting them, I refer to them by their first name. If they flinch (and it happens), I immediately form a negative opinion. If they don’t, then I feel more at ease with the person. Schmitt suggests first-name use breeds a false sense of familiarity. I agree, but unlike Schmitt, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Politics should be personal, not the domain of Greek Gods on Mt. Olympus, far removed from the plebes below.

People may talk about “respecting the office” and all that jazz, but I’m not interested. What some consider disrespect, I consider an homage to our representative democracy. They are OUR employees, not royalty.

That’s one way of looking at it. On the other hand, I don’t think you call anyone by their first name if you’re not a friend or family member, and you certainly don’t call someone significantly older than you by their first name. Kos is six months younger than I; any Presidential candidate would be older than us. (Well, I’m 35 so I guess someone my age could run, but none is, at least nobody of significance.) Obama is the youngest, and he’s ten years older. In writing, I would call the junior senator from New York “Hillary”, and have. But to her face, she would be “Senator Clinton” or “Mrs. Clinton”. That isn’t about politics, that’s simple civility.

to get local churches, mosques and temples involved in rebuilding the community by supporting mentoring programs, clean-ups, neighborhood revitalization and programs to help former inmates successfully return to society.

Which is actually a pretty good idea. I am struck, however, by the name: The Nehemiah Project. Didn’t Nehemiah build a wall? Yes, the story mentions it — he built the walls of Jerusalem. Does Chief Nunn see Birmingham as one big gated community now?